दस्त (dast)
noun
Mainly a medical/colloquial word for 'loose motions, diarrhea'; also survives in a couple of set idioms meaning 'hand' (from Persian), which are literary/fixed rather than everyday vocabulary.
Sense
1
:
diarrhea, loose motions
noun, masculine Almost always used with लगना (lagnaa) or होना (honaa), e.g. दस्त लगना (dast lagnaa, 'to have loose motions') -- the person affected is marked with को (ko), not ने (ne).
Synonyms: पेचिश (pechish, dysentery, narrower medical sense), लूज़ मोशन (looz moshan, colloquial)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the word you will actually hear at a Delhi chemist's counter or from a worried mother describing a child's upset stomach -- it is direct and commonly used, not a euphemism like the English 'upset stomach.' Doctors and lay people alike say it without embarrassment.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes treat दस्त (dast) as a verb-like action they 'do'; in real usage it 'happens to' someone -- मुझे दस्त लगे हैं (mujhe dast lage hain, 'I have loose motions'), not a construction with ने (ne). 2) दस्त (dast) is plural-agreeing in most everyday usage (दस्त लगे हैं, dast lage hain) even though it refers to one ongoing condition -- learners often default to singular agreement.
Sample Sentences:
मुझे कल रात से दस्त लगे हैं।
I've had diarrhea since last night.
(mujhe kal raat se dast lage hain।)
बच्चे को दस्त हो गए हैं, डॉक्टर के पास ले चलो।
The child has diarrhea, take him to the doctor.
(bachche ko dast ho gae hain, doktar ke paas le chalo।)
गंदा पानी पीने से अक्सर दस्त हो जाते हैं।
Drinking dirty water often causes diarrhea.
(gandaa paanii piine se aksar dast ho jaate hain।)
अगर तुम बाहर का खाना खाओगे तो दस्त लग जाएँगे।
If you eat street food, you'll get diarrhea.
(agar tum baahar kaa khaanaa khaaoge to dast lag jaaenge।)
पिछले हफ्ते मुझे तीन दिन तक दस्त रहे।
Last week I had diarrhea for three days.
(pichhle haphte mujhe tiin din tak dast rahe।)
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि यह दवा दस्त रोकने के लिए है।
The doctor said this medicine is for stopping diarrhea.
(doktar ne kahaa ki yah davaa dast rokne ke lie hai।)
अगर मैंने वह मसालेदार चाट न खाई होती तो दस्त न होते।
If I hadn't eaten that spicy chaat, I wouldn't have gotten diarrhea.
(agar mainne vah masaaledaar chaat n khaaii hotii to dast n hote।)
अगर दस्त दो दिन से ज़्यादा रहें तो डॉक्टर को दिखाना चाहिए।
If diarrhea lasts more than two days, one should see a doctor.
(agar dast do din se zyaadaa rahen to doktar ko dikhaanaa chaahie।)
केमिस्ट ने पूछा, दस्त हैं या उल्टी भी हो रही है?
The chemist asked, is it diarrhea, or is there vomiting too?
(kemist ne poochhaa, dast hain yaa ultii bhii ho rahii hai?)
यह दस्त की दवाई है, दिन में दो बार लेनी है।
This is diarrhea medicine, it has to be taken twice a day.
(yah dast kii davaaii hai, din men do baar lenii hai।)
दस्त की वजह से उसका शरीर बहुत कमज़ोर हो गया है।
Because of the diarrhea, his body has become very weak.
(dast kii vajah se uskaa shariir bahut kamzor ho gayaa hai।)
Sense
2
:
hand (literary, from Persian)
noun, masculine Survives mainly inside fixed idioms rather than as a freestanding word for 'hand' in speech.
Synonyms: हाथ (haath)
Frequency: literary
Cultural Note: You will meet this sense almost only inside the idiom दस्त-ओ-गिरेबान होना (dast-o-girebaan honaa, to grapple/come to blows) or in Urdu-influenced poetry -- not something to reach for in daily conversation, where हाथ (haath) is the normal word.
Sample Sentences:
दोनों गुट दस्त-ओ-गिरेबान हो गए।
The two factions came to blows.
(donon gut dast-o-girebaan ho gae।)
बहस बढ़ी तो दोनों भाई दस्त-ओ-गिरेबान हो गए।
When the argument escalated, the two brothers grappled with each other.
(bahas badhii to donon bhaaii dast-o-girebaan ho gae।)
शायर ने अपने दस्त से वह ख़त लिखा था।
The poet had written that letter with his own hand.
(shaayar ne apne dast se vah khat likhaa thaa।)
इस नज़्म में शायर उसके दस्त की नर्मी का ज़िक्र करता है।
In this poem, the poet mentions the softness of her hand.
(is nazm men shaayar uske dast kii narmii kaa zikr kartaa hai।)
अगर दोनों पक्ष ज़रा भी झुकते, तो वे दस्त-ओ-गिरेबान न होते।
If both sides had bent even a little, they would not have come to blows.
(agar donon paksh zaraa bhii jhukte, to ve dast-o-girebaan n hote।)
गुस्से में वे दस्त-ओ-गिरेबान हो जाते हैं।
In anger, they end up grappling with each other.
(gusse men ve dast-o-girebaan ho jaate hain।)
क्या राजनेता संसद में भी दस्त-ओ-गिरेबान होंगे?
Will the politicians come to blows even in parliament?
(kyaa raajnetaa sansad men bhii dast-o-girebaan honge?)
उसका दस्त उठा और उसने आसमान की तरफ़ इशारा किया।
Her hand rose, and she pointed toward the sky.
(uskaa dast uthaa aur usne aasmaan kii taraf ishaaraa kiyaa।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
दस्त
(dast)
(sg.m.oblique):
दस्त
(dast)
(pl.m.direct):
दस्त
(dast)
(pl.m.oblique):
दस्तों
(daston)